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OrangePolitics.org

Thanks to students, taxis in Chapel Hill will now serve us all better

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on December 31, 2012 - 3:25pm

Starting tomorrow - just a few hours too late to help revellers tonight - you might actually want to take a cab in Chapel Hill! In the past, their fees were so exorbitant that cabs were only for the very desperate. But the Town Council has reformed the system in response to a request from UNC students. The change will also help regional commuters (like me) who can get a bus back from Durham or Raleigh after 7pm, but then are stuck walking the last mile to get home.

The changes set a flat rate between $6 and $8 for an area that extends to a 1-1/2 mile radius around the Chapel Hill Central Business District. The flat rate zone includes all of the Central Business District, most of the main campus of UNC, and a large area of predominantly student occupied housing located north of Rosemary Street up to North Estes Drive. The western edge of the zone ends at the Carrboro city limit.

Trips that originate and terminate in the flat rate zone and cross over both Franklin and Rosemary streets are subject to the "cross over" fee. The cross over fee factors in short distance fares within the flat rate zone, supporting riders who wish to travel a short distance and compensating the taxi company for longer trips within the flat rate zone.

Thanks to the former student body president for making this request and to the Council for implementing it.